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Monday, November 15, 2010

The Art of the Ninja Jump + Now CVA

So last week the corp was making the move from our base in The Forge region to our new base across the cluster. Since I'm gimped in being able to help I was forced to sit on the sidelines in the supercarrier watching as my corp mates proved their worth once again.

Feeling like a burden since they were talking about having a carrier escort op to accompany the supercarrier on its journey on the only night I can string together a few hours (i.e. Monday night), I decided to at least scout the route out with my cyno alt Korannon and if the opportunity presented itself, make the jump so that the others has one less jump to make to come to me.

So Friday morning, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning right around downtime, I got my alt in position in a target system and made the jump alone with the supercarrier. You might think this is a very risky thing to do but if you take the right precautions and pick the right times and systems, you are as safe as traveling in a pack. The chances of a perfect storm of being spotted, tackled by heavy interdictor (since the Wyvern is immune to regular electronic warfare), and someone having enough DPS to kill my ship in a minute (or 15 minutes if I'm careless on the ctrl+q) is low enough to be ignorable. As long as I'm careful.

And I was. For three jumps through empire no one as much as flew in to check out the cyno ship, much less threaten to uncloak the Wyvern. I was almost a little disappointed. For the last jump I had corp mates in local (shout out to Traver who guarded my cyno ship) and soon I was secure in my not-deep-anymore safe spot back in Sukanan constellation.

Sukanan you say? Isn't that back in Tash Murkon? Why yes, yes it is. More on that in a moment.

With the supercarrier secured, I put the parking alt back in it (she's training for Jump Drive Calibration skills to avoid this kind of hassle in the future) and jump cloned up to The Forge region to pick up my Chimera, the venerable Ninveah itself. A few more solo jumps, not as dangerous due to being able to dock, and it was back in the Suk as well.

What's that? OK, fine, I'll tell you.

Once we decided to pull out of RAGE alliance, we explored contacts and compiled options, debating the various merits of each, and focused on what we as a corp wanted and wanted to accomplish. This is never a trivial task as the dissolution of Paxton Federation last spring demonstrated; different people want different things.

One thing we all agreed on was that our time in Providence with Paxton was some of the best of our null sec careers, even when we were essentially on our own and surrounded by hostiles. Compared to having to go far to find fights as part of the NC, it was nice to have reds right next door. And with Providence in as much chaos as it is now, it seems like the perfect size and types of fights that m3 Corp excels and revels in.

So who's recruiting? Well, there were a few options but m3 Corp has a long memory and is very loyal to old friends. So we chatted some people up and made overtures to join an old ally which were welcomed with open arms.

We're joining CVA.

That's OK, I'll wait while you clean up the mess from you spitting your drink all over the monitor.

Alright, done? Allow me to explain.

I realize I might have in the past said something along the lines of that I hope CVA rots in low sec. You have to understand how much myself and others in m3 loved our time in Paxton and how bitter some of us were when it came to an end, apparently at the hands of CVA's bungling from this outside perspective. The reasons and faults of CVA's Providence last spring are in the past and we can't keep looking backwards but rather must look at current conditions.

1) Providence is still an exciting hotbed of mass confusion and lots of targets for a CVA friendly entity to enjoy.

2) The major power blocks opposing CVA, namely -A- and Ushra'Khan have moved on to their own time in the wilderness.

3) CVA has gone through a purge of sorts while living in low sec and may be smaller than it once was but is now more focused with clear goals and dedicated members. It may have many of the same leaders as last spring but they are hopefully wiser and more grounded.

So CVA has been rebuilding and we feel we want to try and be a part of that. Our long history with this old alliance demands that we give it a chance.

"Does this mean m3 Corp is now a bunch of role players?"

No. It means we can't go around breaking immersion for those that do partake in the periodic "Amarr Victor" and our CEO is required to make a statement that all members have sworn oaths to the Empire and Empresses. Secretly I think our CEO is a closet role player though. Make no mistake, m3 Corp is here for the pew pew.

"You're crazy for reason X and reason Y!"

This decision was not taken lightly and I admit I was initially opposed to the idea but was swung around on several convincing arguments to give it a try. I'm looking forward to what Providence is like now and getting in on some wild and crazy action. If some big alliance is coming to crush CVA tomorrow, well, no one is safe in Eve null sec politics. Intrepid Crossing/Tactical Narcotics Team/Paxton Federation showed us the folly of thinking differently.

After I announced in twitter that I was joing CVA, I got a lot of responses, mostly negative. The Minmatar roleplayers were welcome in their despising and anger, but the comments from regular players were amusing too.

Perhaps the most indicative of the responses can be captured in this comment from Mord Fiddler of Fiddler's Edge:

Gone to CVA, hmmm?

When I saw the announcement that you were leaving RAGE and it was going to be a long haul, I wondered if M3 was crawling back to CVA.

But there's no way, I thought. Couldn't be. After what CVA done to Paxton? These guys have got way more pride than that.

Well. Seems the taste of shame and humiliation washes out of the mouth faster up North.

Must be the water

Ouch! For the record, I never felt shamed or humiliated by CVA, nor do I think anyone in my corp felt that way either. We questioned some of CVA's tactical decisions and willingness to fight, sure, but then I've questioned a lot of alliances thinking processes over time.

Regardless of his opinions on this matter, I give a high endorsement to people to subscribe and read his blog, its one of my favourites in my blog roll.

8 comments:

You know I continue to wish you and everyone in m3 the very best Kirith, and I hope you know I mean that sincerely. But I couldn't do what you are doing, and maybe it is because they did it to me twice - both in LFA and PXF. Or maybe it's because I don't forget an forgive in-game (real life is different, but that is how I choose to play the game). Are there people in CVA that I remain in contact with? A few. But I could never be associated with them directly. Period.

Again, that's me. And it doesn't change the fact that I wish m3 well. Although, if you guys end up on the other side of the fence, I will shoot you. lol.

I wish you well, although I disagree with your choice of allies. Good Luck in providence. Hopefully CVA will treat you well, and I hope you can clear out some of the pirates hanging around provi at the moment. I appreciate CVA's mission, but I can't say I like the method

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